(A)musings of Auntie Nanuuq: Time to STOP Nestle

Monday, July 18, 2016

Time to STOP Nestle

https://actions.sumofus.org/a/don-t-let-nestle-build-a-water-bottling-plant-in-the-middle-of-the-desert?sp_ref=215012864.99.173027.f.546534.2&source=fb

Don't let Nestlé build a

water-bottling plant in

the middle of the desert

Nestlé wants to build a $35 million water-bottling facility in sunbaked Phoenix, Arizona in the middle of the Sonoran Desert.

Phoenix, Arizona, one of the driest cities in the United States, gets its water from the drought-plagued Colorado River. The whole state has been advised to “share in the shortage” to protect the long-term water supply. But it’s about to let Nestlé bottle 35 million gallons for profit.

Phoenix residents have been conserving water for years. Now Nestlé wants to bottle that water and sell it back to the public at 2,000 times the cost.

Tell the Government of Phoenix: Don’t let Nestlé build a water bottling plant in the middle of a desert.

Phoenix is one of the fastest growing cities in the U.S and has been in a drought for the past 17 years. With a booming population and global water scarcity on the horizon, allowing Nestlé to pump water from an already starved water supply is beyond careless.

Phoenix needs infrastructure to get water to the people who need it in times of emergency, not to give its water to a multinational corporation to make millions in profit.

Tell the Government of Phoenix not to allow Nestlé to bottle water in a desert!

It’s the same story: Nestlé swoops in on a town that has fallen on economic hard times and cut a deal to bottle local water as a boon to the economy. In reality, the plant will likely only create only 40-50 permanent jobs and could put the city’s already limited supply at greater risk.

That’s where we come in. Over 250,000 SumOfUs members just stood up to stop Nestlé from doing exactly the same thing in Hood River, Oregon. SumOfUs supported local organizers in introducing a historic ballot initiative to stop Nestlé in its tracks -- making Hood River the first place in the country to ban the commercial bottling of water.

And across the world, we’re fighting against water privatization -- and winning. This week, we scored a major victory in New Zealand, getting the government to reverse its decision to allow 40 million liters of our water to be sold off for private profit.

We’ve been fighting for water rights as long as we’ve been fighting corporate power. We’ve gone toe-to-toe with Nestlé in Canada, California, and all over the world. And we’ve won before. Help us keep up the pressure again.

Tell the Government of Phoenix: Don’t let Nestlé suck Arizona dry.